Kamen Lee Dot Com, one of several hundred local weblogs, took a spin through Kitchen 64’s extensive menu and gave it a thumb’s up. We’re still waiting for the “official” reviews from the Times-Dispatch and Style Weekly, but in the meantime, check out the list of websites that have reviewed Kitchen 64 — and the comments North Richmond News readers have left about their experiences.

Hunter Lange, which sits near the corner of Lakeside Avenue and Hilliard Road, was recently featured in Style Weekly’s monthly Home supplement:

Hunter Lange has an abundance of old furniture and garden accessories sure to delight shabby-chic aficionados.

“I don’t like anything new,” Jones says, but heavy, dark antiques aren’t her style either. “It’s cheerful,” she says. “It’s breezy and light.”

Jones, a cheerful, birdlike person herself, points out a few of her favorite recent finds. An Eastlake dresser, painted white, with the original acorn pulls (Jones does much repainting and repairing of the pieces that come in). A century-old Hungarian cabinet repainted with a primitive rooster and hen. An early 1900s Victorian lamp base with two clinging cherubs and flaking white paint. Wrought-iron garden furniture. And a 1920s birdbath filled with seashells and ivy.

Jones is too fond of this last piece to sell it. “I buy what I like,” she says. “I never buy what matches.”

Lakeside’s Fin & Feather is more than a spot to pick up a goldfish — it features its own Water Garden Center with all you need to design, install and maintain your own backyard pond, waterfall or babbling brook. Style Weekly’s monthly Home supplement recently featured Fin & Feather:

This design was inspired by Crabtree Falls, the dramatic, multi-level cascade in Nelson County. Shane Rippey, water garden manager at Fin & Feather’s Water Garden Center, designed it to be low-maintenance — no fish, no plants (though either could be added). Total materials cost: approximately $1,500 to $2,000.

To create great sound, “the most important thing is to have enough area at different levels for the water to splash down and break up,” Rippey says. He used flat fieldstone to break the water’s fall at several points.

Position the waterfall near your patio, porch or wherever you’d like to sit and enjoy it. Stand in front of your waterfall and you get the full effect; walk behind it and you can scarcely hear the water. “It really takes a lot of ambient noise out of the neighborhood, too,” Rippey says of the design shown here. The sound, though soft, erases much of the roar of neighboring Lakeside Avenue.

Urban Richmond, a local weblog focused on development and planning issues, has a good summary of a recent Times-Dispatch article on the Richmond Braves’ plans to stay at or near the Diamond, their current stadium on North Boulevard, and Mayor Wilder’s vision for 60 acres of city-owned land surrounding the site. The Times-Dispatch article also details a potential land swap between the city and the state — the current Coliseum site downtown in exchange for the Virginia ABC department’s headquarters on Hermitage Road.

The discussion is gathering momentum because Richmond is pushing to transform the land it owns around The Diamond to allow for construction of a new ballpark for the Richmond Braves, a tennis complex for VCU, and a privately developed aquatics center.

The Wilder administration also wants to encourage private development of the land with a mixture of retail, office, commercial and residential uses at a key entrance to the city.

The city recently issued a request for proposals to hire a firm for real estate and advisory services. The firm would scour the country for private proposals on how to best develop the land that the city owns around North Boulevard, Hermitage Road, Interstate 95 and the CSX railroad tracks.

Harry E. Black, chief financial officer and deputy chief administrative officer, said the city has shared the plan with the Atlanta Braves, which owns the AAA franchise here and would be part of the development.

“They are comfortable and excited about this approach,” Black said.

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch comes news that Richmond Steel will be vacating their North Boulevard site at the end of July, and plans are moving forward to convert the Art Deco building into a 16-screen cinema and shopping complex:

Richmond Steel Inc. is vacating its steel-assembly building, built in 1907 at North Boulevard and Leigh Street, and moving into new quarters in Chester by July 23.

The move will clear the way for Bow Tie Partners, a New York development firm, to convert the Richmond Steel building into Movieland at Boulevard Square.

Bow Tie Partners said Boulevard Square will open next year and feature a 16-screen, stadium-style cinema and 53,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and entertainment space available for lease.

Many residents in North Richmond woke to a thunderous ripple of explosions just after 12:30 a.m. Friday morning as a rain-delayed, extra-inning Richmond Braves game concluded with a major fireworks display. Today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the Braves management are apologetic about the very early morning wake-up call, but felt they had no choice but to go ahead with the fireworks display:

The fireworks display didn’t begin until after the end of a rain-delayed, 10-inning 8-7 loss to Syracuse that concluded just shy of 12:30 a.m.

More than 5,000 people were still waiting for the fireworks show.

“We felt it was our obligation to give them what they paid to see,” said Bill Blackwell, the Braves’ assistant general manager. “It was kind of a no-win situation.”

The late show wasn’t a problem at The Hermitage, a retirement community of more than 150 people at Westwood and Hermitage avenues. “Most of them were joking about it,” said Executive Director Lynn Watkins. “They took it in stride.”

Jon Baliles, whose River City Rapids website provides an ongoing look at what’s going on around Richmond, cautions Richmonders looking for a quick fix along the Boulevard corridor — especially on the heels of recent newspaper articles on Mayor Wilder’s ideas for growth.

Despite the proclamations earlier this week by the RMA that the Braves are staying at the Diamond, it is noteworthy the Braves have not commented for any of these stories. Their option runs out at the end of this season, and if the only thing in front of them is possibilities for talks about a grand plan, I wouldn’t expect them to renew their option.

Just because the RMA says so does not make it so. Even more astonishing is the editorial attitude in today’s T-D that proclaims “The team not only has extended its lease at The Diamond but in the future will play either at a renovated ballpark or at a new stadium in the vicinity.”

I have confirmed this morning the Braves have not signed anything and no one has an actual plan for a stadium, just more talk. The editorial is reminiscent of those that sold us the bill of goods on how great 6th St. Marketplace would be, how the Convention Center would restore downtown, and how the arts center will flourish, ad infinitum.

This is a process that is on a shorter time line than people think. Simply wishing it were so does not get it done. It is amazing people around here still sell it and I would hope more and more of us refuse to buy it. Talking about it and wishing it were so while giving the appearance all is well is ignoring reality, and then it is too late and the Braves are gone.

Over at Style Weekly, one of Deveron Timberlake’s readers issues a call for the new owners of Dot’s Back Inn to think about another change in their business:

A reader responds to our recent item that “wise diners predicted weeks ago that Dot’s Back Inn would jump on the brunch bandwagon.”

T.F. writes: “Now, if Dot’s would just jump on the nonsmoking bandwagon. I live about two blocks from it and I can’t remember the last time I ate there. Oh, yes I do! I smelled like I’d smoked two packs of cigarettes when I left; I vowed, along with my dining companions, never to return! You’d think the new owner would see from the long lines and filled bars and booths at the new nonsmoking eateries in the neighborhood (thank you Kitchen 64 and Northside Grille!) that Dot’s might actually gain clientele by going smokeless.”

The Times-Dispatch/Discover Richmond weblog has the scoop on a $100,000 gift from CarMax to renovate two public basketball courts at Pine Camp Arts and Community Center off of Chamberlayne Avenue, and kick off a new summer basketball league for area youth:

Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder and CarMax CEO Tom Folliard announced a new partnership to give 330 children in Richmond the opportunity to play basketball this summer.

With more than $100,000 in support from CarMax, Inc. and the CarMax Foundation, the City has renovated two public basketball courts at its Pine Camp Arts and Community Center and will kick off a new summer youth basketball league with 33 teams, including four all-girl teams…

… The renovated courts include new surfaces, new goal posts and nets, and the addition of new bleachers and players’ benches. They are free and open for the public to use, except during the season Monday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. when the league and its teams of children ranging in age from 10 to 17 will use the courts…

… As part of the partnership, Tim Weathers, a graduate of the University of Richmond who played ball there, will serve as the league’s director. CarMax will provide jerseys for the children and equipment, and Richmond off-duty police officers will provide security. In addition to the recreation department teams, the league includes a Police Athletic League team, a team from the Richmond Outreach Center, and three teams organized by Weathers.

The VCU School of the Arts weblog has details on the host of VCU-affiliated jazz performers set to cool down hot summer nights at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens’ ‘Flowers After Five’ event.

“Flowers After Five” takes place every Thursday evening — through September 27 — starting at 5:00 with music and wine sampling from 6:00 until 8:00. Regular garden admission fees are charged. From VCU’s weblog:

Flowers After 5 is a series of evening events that will feature VCU Jazz trios and wine sampling provided by Total Wine. The second Thursday of each month (July 12, August 9, and September 13) bring your pooch and enjoy Fidos After 5 in conjunction with the Richmond SPCA. You can enjoy the music and wine sampling with your faithful companion.

Garden admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, and $6 for children ages 3-12. Members are admitted to the Garden for free. Wine-sampling tickets will incur an additional fee. The Garden Cafe and the Tea House will be open, and both feature a nice assortment of dinner fare.

The roster of performers is as follows:
* TH 7/12, 6p: Bryan Hooten (trombone), Matt Walton (guitar),
Brian Sulser (bass)
* TH 7/19, 6p: Antonio Garcia (trombone, vocals, percussion),
Mike Ess (guitar), Rusty Farmer (bass)
* TH 7/26, 6p: Taylor Barnett (trumpet), Skip Gailes (piano),
and Matt Hall (bass)

For a list of performers in August and September, visit the VCU School of the Arts weblog.

Ah, street cleaning. Exactly what most of us like to ponder in July when temperatures soar! If you’re the City of Richmond, that’s an accurate statement.

The city’s street cleaning schedule has just been released.

For more information, call 646-0999.

The Times-Dispatch reports that FEMA will contribute $21 million to help pay for new sewer lines in flood-stricken Battery Park.

The aid will reimburse the city for most of the expense in building the line, estimated to cost at least $28 million. The federal contribution will increase as the city incurs more expense in completing the sewer project by next spring…

… The money has been expected since March. FEMA announced then that it had approved the city’s plan to build a massive sewer line around a defunct municipal landfill that had caved in the old sewer during the heavy rains that preceded Tropical Storm Ernesto at the end of last August.

The flooding displaced 79 families from homes and apartments in Brookfield Gardens, Southern Barton Heights and Battery Park. Richmond is buying many of the properties to expand the park, but the process still hasn’t been completed for residents, almost a year after the flooding.

North Richmond residents — Your opportunity to help transform downtown starts next Friday!

From July 20 through July 26, the City of Richmond, Venture Richmond and Florida-based planning firm Dover Kohl invite the public to participate in a highly interactive process to update Richmond’s Downtown Master Plan.

The series of discussions and design events (known as a charrette) are open to the entire community – residents, business owners, non-profits and government officials. Each day, a public design studio will be updated to reflect – in the moment – the ideas contributed by participants. The results of this week of work will shape the future of Downtown Richmond, and the broader Richmond community.

For ongoing coverage of the Downtown Plan charrette, visit Buttermilk & Molasses’ Richmond Planning and Development page. For more details on the Downtown Plan charrette, visit the city’s Department of Community Development website, or contact Brooke Hardin with the City of Richmond at (804) 646-6310 or email him at brooke.hardin@richmondgov.com. To participate, drop by one or all of the following public events:

The Charrette Schedule

Friday, July 20 – Kick-off Presentation
Location: Plant Zero (Hull Street & E. 3rd Street)
Time: 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Event Description: At the start of the charrette week, a “food for thought” presentation will be given to educate the public on best practices in downtown urban planning.

Saturday, July 21 – Hands-on Design Session
Location: Plant Zero (Hull Street & E. 3rd Street)
Time: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Event Description: At this design session, we will work in small groups sharing ideas and thoughts on the future of Downtown.

Sunday – Thursday, July 22 - 26 - Open Design Studio
Location: The Commons @ Plant Zero (220 Hull Street)
Time: Sunday 1:00 pm – 7:00pm; Monday – Wednesday 9:00 am – 7:00 pm; Thursday 9:00am – 12:00pm
Event Description: The design team will work on-site creating the plan. We invite the community to stop by and offer continual input and monitor the work-in-progress.

Thursday, July 26 - Work-in-Progress Presentation
Location: Plant Zero (Hull Street & E. 3rd Street)
Time: 6:30 – 9:00pm
Event Description: At the end of the charrette week, the design team will present the work-in progress to the community.

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The latest issue of the newsletter of the Friends of Bryan Park is loaded with information, including an update on the new disc golf course — thousands of feet of frisbee-throwing fun.

The first nine holes to a new Disc Golf Course have been installed at Bryan Park. Each hole will have two “tee-off” pads. The easier layout is played from the gold tees and covers a distance of around 3030 feet. The more difficult “Pro” tees are marked with blue blocks and are longer with less open fairways, and add up to over 3475 feet…

… The course begins next to the parking lot across from Shelter #1.

More details, including background about and rules for disc golf can be found in the newsletter, available online or at local businesses in North Richmond.

And don’t forget the Disc Golf Course Grand Opening at 7 p.m. this Tuesday, July 17, at Shelter #1. There will be free ice cream, cookies and drinks; a ribbon cutting; disc golf demonstrations; and opportunities to learn more about Bryan Park from city officials and Friends of Bryan Park members.

Disc golf isn’t the only thing happening at Bryan Park — Friends of Bryan park report lots of activity this spring that builds on their continued efforts to spruce up North Richmond’s favorite park.

Discover Richmond is spotlighting the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens with a series of multimedia tours, slide shows and video tours on their website. Check it out.

The Times-Dispatch’s Daniel Neman had a front-page story in Friday’s paper about the dearth of movie theaters in parts of the Richmond region. The story included additional details on the proposed Movieland at Boulevard Square:

Bucking the trend may be a planned 16-screen theater called Movieland at Boulevard Square. It is scheduled to open next year on the Boulevard at Leigh Street in Richmond.

The complex would be the first in the area owned by Bow Tie Partners, a development group from New York and Aspen, Colo.

The Movieland theater would be close to the Fan District and Museum District, and relatively close to downtown. This location is key, said Todd Schall-Vess, manager of the independent Byrd Theatre.

“I think they want to be ahead of the curve. They’re hoping there will be a revitalization of downtown,” he said.

This Tuesday, July 17, the Bellevue Civic Association will hold its summer meeting under the tent next to Once Upon A Vine on MacArthur Avenue. Pizza and soda will be served starting at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will follow dinner. There will be raffle prizes to raise money for the association.

The meeting is open to Bellevue Civic Association members, and those interested in joining the association.

If you haven’t made it to Bellevue’s walk-in version of a Drive-In Theater, be sure to drop by Once Upon A Vine around 8:00 p.m. on Fridays through September 7 for movie night in the parking lot. Grab your blanket or folding chair, along with a bucket of popcorn, and catch a summer flick with your North Side neighbors.

Richmond’s com has a quick run-down on a handful of new restaurants in the city, including Bellevue’s own Northside Grille:

Is there anything better than an affordable neighborhood restaurant chocked-full of booth seating and delicious food? I can’t think of anything. The Northside’s newest eatery (and that’s saying something in a neighborhood that’s bursting with progress) is a lot like your favorite Fan bar, just all grown up and ready for kids. The menu is reminiscent of Sidewalk Café’s with its selection of salads, sandwiches and appetizers, possibly because two of Northside Grille’s owners once called the classic Fan restaurant home. But its entrée selection of meats, pastas and seafood (like fish soft tacos, crab cakes and little neck clams), not to mention its ban on smoking and a family-friendly environment, sets this place apart. With a brunch menu that includes green eggs and ham and a cocktail list that boasts carafes of Mojitos, it’s clear that Northside Grille is a perfect fit for the neighborhood. My only question is how soon can we see a Southside Grille? Open for lunch and dinner daily and weekend brunch. Entrees range from $7 to $23.